Re: HYB: Seed Germination

Debra,

I wonder two things in looking at your post.  One, and only because
you didn't specifically say it... did you put a damp paper towel in the baggie
with the seeds?  I've been experimenting this year and it appears that about
8cc of water to a whole regular sized paper towel is about right.  I just fold
my papertowel neatly and lay the seeds in beside it.

Two, it is not an
absolute requirement that you rinse the seeds at all, or dry them.  Oh,
wait... if you dry them out you have to soak them... not just rinse them.   I
did that one year and decided it was too much trouble.  (Meanwhile I will pot
each and every seed into an individual pot... go figure)  It seems the
critical thing is the leeching away part.  I observe leaching away as a coffee
colored stain on the paper towel, and then I switch the paper towel out.  I
have germinated day lilly seeds the same way so I suspect sauce for the
goose...

Another stage that appears to be critical... which may not have been
mentioned... ever ... in the archives... is that the seeds go through a
"slime" stage.  I think this is usually about two weeks before the paper towel
is stained.  Depending on the lot the seeds will be anywhere from so oily they
slip from between fingers to completely covered in phlegmy slime.  In my seeds
the slime stage is 4-6 weeks after harvest for those pods that G1 first. 
Other pods take longer to slime and stain...

I also think that there is a
post leaching end of the line stage.  I have observed some pods which slime
and stain and then seem to dry out.  This is even when the amount of water in
the burrito remains constant.  I think that at a point the oil in the seed
coat is completely gone, and if the seed has not germinated the seed coat
becomes so porus that it allows the germ structures to rot.  Seeds at this
stage feel something like a piece of peat moss, with similar crumble quality.
Christian




________________________________
From: D S
<proverb_31@hotmail.com>
To: iris@hort.net
Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009
3:14:19 PM
Subject: [iris] HYB: Seed Germination

Thanks everyone, for your
warm welcome.

Yes, hybridizing anything seems to be more than a bit
compulsive. Good Lord,
who but the compulsively obsessed would think its fun
to look through bags of
hundereds of seeds nearly every day to see if any
might have germinated! Glad
to be in good company! :)

I looked through the
archives for information on germinating indoors. I saw
some posts with
pictures but got a little confused because the pictures look
like my daylily
seeds more than my iris seeds???

I have a couple of specific questions that
maybe you all can shed some
knowledge on.

One is that the instructions I
followed called for a two week period of daily
rinsing the seeds before
stratifying them in the fridge. Is that rinsing
required for bearded or only
with siberians?

I treated them all the same so my process was to harvest as
soon as the pod
started to crack open (mostly Aug but some in Sept). I shelled
the pods & put
the seeds into bits of stocking, then soaked them in a cup of
water that was
changed daily for 2 weeks. The seeds were never allowed to dry.
Then I put the damp seeds into plastic bags and stored in the fridge. By the
end of Sept they were all in the fridge.

At New Years I took them out of the
fridge & added a 10% mix of
peroxide:distilled water just as I do for daylily
seed and put them in a
closet that is slightly above room temperature,
changing the peroxide solution
every 3-5 days. The peroxide adds airation & in
some seeds helps to stimulate
germination.

I had a few germinations (
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